Del Norte Alumni Diego Sanchez made international news when he dropped British fighter Ross Pearson in UFC Fight Night 42 here in Albuquerque. In a split decision, Sanchez won the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) lightweight bout in front of a capacity crowd at Tingley Coliseum. Read about it in the Albuquerque Journal article “UFC Fight Night: Big night for ABQ, its boys“.
Diego Sanchez was a wrestler at Del Norte and is now a professional mixed martial artist with a background in Wrestling and Gaidojutsu, system of submission wrestling developed by his longtime trainer Greg Jackson. Sanchez has competed in the lightweight, welterweight, and middleweight divisions for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
